PENNSYLVANIA — Efforts by Republicans in Pennsylvania to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election remain ongoing.
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the latest election-related lawsuit on Monday, a case that has been in the headlines since before Election Day: the decision to extend by three days the deadline by which mail-in ballots could be received. The deadline was extended due to fears of Postal Service delays preventing votes from being counted.
The suit, filed by state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, argued that extending the deadline without approval from the state Legislature was unconstitutional.
Roughly 10,000 votes were received after the mail-in ballot deadline, not enough to overturn Joe Biden’s 81,000 vote lead in the state over Donald Trump.
The issue was repeatedly challenged throughout the election season; and when it was upheld by the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court, it was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court in October. The court’s 4-4 vote (after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, and before the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett) essentially upheld the lower court’s ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court did not comment on its decision declining to hear the case Monday. But in dissenting from the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas said that the issue should have been heard and resolved.
“One wonders what this Court waits for,” he wrote. “We failed to settle this dispute before the election, and thus provide clear rules. Now we again fail to provide clear rules for future elections.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued his support for the ruling.
“Time and time again, Trump and his enablers took Pennsylvania to court in an attempt to throw out legal votes,” Shapiro said. “Let these Supreme Court actions today finalize the truth: Pennsylvania’s elections were free, fair and legal. End of story.”
